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Britain will drive Europe’s transport

By MICK HAMER

Europe’s efforts to cajole members of the Community into adopting a
sustainable transport policy depend in no small part on the new British
government’s attitude to green issues when it takes up the presidency of
the Council of Ministers in July.

The Commission’s green paper on the impact of transport on the environment,
which was published in February, is currently the focus of a complex series
of manoeuvres in Brussels.

The Green Paper advocates ‘encouraging more environmentally friendly
modes’ of transport and increasing investment in public transport. The paper
was drawn up by the part of the transport directorate responsible for the
‘social and ecological impact’ of transport.

However, these principles will find their way into Community transport
policy only if the British government uses the power of its presidency to
debate the issues among the Community’s transport ministers. For another
part of the transport directorate is also drawing up a White Paper on transport.
This paper is currently in draft but it is understood to ignore or play
down many of the more important principles in the Green Paper. Only after
a debate among the transport ministers can the principles in the Green Paper
now find their way into the White Paper.

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The Green Paper argues for a more global approach to transport policy,
which would take into account the impact of transport on the environment.

It forecasts an increase of 25 per cent in the number of cars on Europe’s
roads between 1990 and 2010 and a 42 per cent rise in heavy lorries over
the sameperiod. It says that if these trends continue the impact on the
environment will ‘become more significant’.

Existing research initiatives, such as DRIVE (Dedicated Road Infrastructure
for Vehicle Safety in Europe) and STEP (Science and Technology for Environmental
Protection) will ‘go some way towards resolving the areas of conflict between
transport and the environment . . . however, on their own . . . they will
not suffice’, says the Green Paper.

It says that efforts to curb pollution and noise and to increase fuel
efficiency willbe easily offset by the forecast increasesin traffic.

Instead it argues for a change in direction of transport investment
away from roads and towards public transport. One of the main features of
the draft white paper is thought to be a major programme of investment in
new European highways.